


The Pride of Summer (UNFINISHED)

by Lost_at_Sea



Category: Mean Girls (2004), Mean Girls - Richmond/Benjamin/Fey
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28737918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lost_at_Sea/pseuds/Lost_at_Sea
Summary: So this ends really abruptly bc it's a WIP but I wanted to see if there was any reaction to it before I invested in writing more. Really it's just Janis and Regina finding excuses to makeout during a summer filled with Pride and group camping trips. Good luck!
Relationships: Regina George/Janis Ian, Regina George/Janis Sarkisian
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	The Pride of Summer (UNFINISHED)

Regina George is a force to be reckoned with. Always has been. It’s somewhere near the end of her senior year that she finally throws her shit to the wind and comes out. Very publicly. By grabbing Janis in the middle of the cafeteria and kissing her. 

To say Janis wasn’t expecting that is… well it’s an understatement. 

To say Janis didn’t enjoy it… well that would be a lie. 

Janis and Regina spent a full month during the summer before their senior year working their shit out and talking out what they did to each other. It takes most of their senior year to fully heal their relationship, but - despite the odds - they have earned each others’ trust. And in some ways, the kiss was... noble? 

See this freshman named Molly was holding hands with her girlfriend Angie in the cafeteria. And some junior hockey player named Mike or something dumb like that had slammed their trays down and said something really crass. He was unfortunate enough to have chosen to do so right by the table that Regina, the former plastics, Cady, the mathletes, and Janis and Damian all sat at. (The mathletes got there early every day and shoved two tables together and Regina doesn’t know how she can still walk around the school with people flying out of her way when she sits with them at lunch, but she counts it a blessing). Janis had immediately rocketed out of her seat, Damian had put a hand on her forearm and most everyone else just sat frozen waiting to see what would happen. The shout Janis had emitted caused most of the cafeteria to go silent and in that stillness, Regina smoothly stood up, swung her hair over a shoulder, and turned to face the boys behind her. Janis’s skin crawled in anticipation. 

Regina had easily positioned herself casually between the boys and Molly and Angie, just half a step in front of Janis. It was a short conversation in which Regina calmly and kindly, for her, insulted their small minds and told them to apologize to the girls. Usually this still worked. When Regina was mad at someone, they tended to listen, but for whatever reason Mike and his little gaggle of junior hockey jocks weren’t. It escalated quickly and as soon as Mike spit out the d-slur at Regina the entire table went into an uproar. Stopped instantly by Regina raising a hand she smugly looked at Mike and made her announcement. 

“I never thought you’d manage to be so astute, Mike. Congratulations.” 

He looked at her completely confused until one of his buddies elbowed him and mumbled “dude I think she’s saying she’s gay.”

Mike’s laugh was gross and disbelieving and Regina had rolled her eyes. It seemed she was done with talking for the afternoon though because she had just turned slightly to Janis who was standing to her right, grabbed the dark-haired girl by the collar of her shirt, and dragged Janis to her. It wasn’t a short kiss - though it was pretty tame - and there was quite an uproar of dropped forks and gasps. When Regina pulled back and Janis’ eyes had defogged, she looked around at a cafeteria of astounded stares and grinned at the fact that Regina had just completely blown the mind of every single person in the room. 

Regina had thrown one last biting comment about never using the d-slur again or finding out just how far she was willing to push her newfound moral code and the shocked boys had wandered off and the two freshmen had looked at the legend that was Regina George like they’d just seen God herself descend from above. Regina had just offered them a small smile and a wink before sitting back down. Janis was still standing there when a moment later the bell for the next period had rung. 

Damian almost kills Regina after the kiss - sure he loves a dramatic moment but he’s about two seconds from giving the blonde a piece of his mind at the end of the day on the drive home when Janis stops him and shrugs it off. Of course, she’s shocked, it’s not like she ever thought that’s how a random Wednesday in May would go, but their immediate group of friends already knew about Regina being gay, and Janis honestly thinks it’s the perfect way to end the absolute shitstorm soap opera that was her high-school experience. If anything she wishes she’d thought of it first. 

However, Regina and Janis don’t talk about the kiss, because of course, they don’t. Regina may have mellowed out and Janis might have learned to better manage her anger and they may be friends in a weird-teasing way but they’re still them. So they don’t talk about it. They don’t even acknowledge it, and to the two of them, nothing’s changed. Damian, Cady, and Gretchen, however, silently wait for the other shoe to drop.

When June 1st hits and Karen, Damian and Janis flood the group chat with pride stuff, Regina looks at her phone, grins a little, and joins in the fun. It makes Janis’ palms sweat.

The Pride Parade in Chicago is in about a week and Gretchen wants them all to go. Damian and Gretchen immediately start planning and coordinating. 

The day of the event arrives and they all gather at Gretchen’s house decked out in their pride finest. Regina is a little boggled by how she managed to find a group of friends that is entirely this gay, despite the way she lived for four years. 

Damian is decked out head-to-toe in Rainbow. Karen has got on a bright pink vest, a yellow low-cut t-shirt, and a denim skirt. She’s got the pan flag painted under her eyes like eye black. Gretchen is decked out in head to toe pink, and her purse is literally the lesbian flag. She’s got a really small one tucked into her hair and she looks so happy. Cady is wearing a flannel she found that’s pink, blue, and purple, a pair of cargo shorts, and she’s got the bi flag on her cheek. Aaron’s in a purple polo that he ironed a pink and blue stripe onto. Damian takes one look at it and insists he go shirtless. Everyone ribs him enough until he agrees and Karen sprays body-glitter all over him. He gives his polo shirt to the blonde mathlete who liked it better than his own magic-marker t-shirt. Aaron ties Cady’s Bi flag around his waist. 

Kevin’s got a black t-shirt that says “I’m not gay but my boyfriend is” in blue, yellow, and pink. Marwan’s white t-shirt says “I’m the boyfriend” in rainbow letters. Janis is in pretty much what she wears every day but her jacket of choice has a lesbian flag emblazoned across the back and a bunch of alien and planet patches all around it. Regina sees the jacket and goes wide-eyed until Janis shoves her shoulder a little and Regina lets herself laugh chokingly. Regina, for her part, is in a white crop top and her light pink pants. Her shirt has a tiny rainbow on it, but it’s pink striped. It’s the closest to a graphic t Regina George will ever wear. Her pants have the lesbian flag sewn over the back pockets. It should look dumb but it actually doesn’t. 

They all pile into Marwan’s SUV and Aaron’s mom’s minivan and make the short drive into Chicago for the pride parade. It takes forever to park, but as soon as they do and get on to the street, they’re completely enveloped by the ridiculous amount of people in little-to-no clothes, bright colors, big signs, and loud music. Everyone looks so happy they could burst. 

There’s something about being surrounded by all these people who couldn’t care less about who they are or who they love that gives them all a sense of joy and safety. They’re standing on the street, right in the thick of the parade and Janis is so happy to be there. A few minutes later, Janis looks over and sees Regina with a pained face and tears in her eyes. She grabs Regina’s wrist. 

“What’s wrong?” It’s so loud that she has to lean in and kind-of shout for Regina to hear her. 

“I just… I hate what I did for so long. Deprived people of feeling safe and accepted.”

Janis stares at her for a long moment. “You can’t go back and change what you did Regina, but you can change what you do now, and you have, and you are.”

Regina looks grateful but still a little sad and uncomfortable. So Janis grabs her hand and squeezes and holds it until Regina seems to relax. They might have hated each other for a long time but there’s a nostalgic familiarity between them that allows them to still offer each other comfort easily. Less than half-an-hour in, Janis looks over and Regina’s partying with the rest of them. 

At one point, this float goes by and Damian knows one of the dudes up there and one second they’re shouting at each other and the next second everyone is on top of a bus. Kevin, Gretchen, Karen, and Damian end up dancing around with the people near the music. Damian kisses no less than three strangers. Aaron and Cady are sickeningly cute but so are Kevin and Marwan and Gretchen and Karen. Janis rolls her eyes a lot, but her cheeks also hurt from smiling so much. 

They’re three-quarters-of-the-way through the parade when Hayley Kiyoko’s classic Girls Like Girls comes on. They’re up on the top of that bus and looking down at everyone screaming at them and singing along. Janis feels like she’s on top of the world. After the bridge, when the lyrics come back in, they blast the music so loud that everyone can feel it in their chest and all of them are jumping up and down and singing at the top of their lungs and there a million and a half flags swinging through the air and so much happiness and Janis is in a jumble of people when she catches Regina’s eye and then all of a sudden Janis is being grabbed around the waist and pulled in. Regina kisses her again, and Janis guesses she should question it this time. Instead, she sinks into the moment and tries not to think about how effortlessly romantic it is.   
•••

The thing is… Regina George is a really good kisser. That’s probably not shocking, seeing as she’s Regina George, but Janis can’t get rid of the feeling of Regina’s lips on hers and she’ll admit that she craves the feeling again. 

There’s something incredibly intoxicating about the way she kisses her. Neither of the kisses has been particularly long or involved, but when Regina George kisses her she makes it count. When Regina George kisses her she pulls her in fast and lets her go slowly at the end. She pushes and pulls and is hard and soft and warm and she threads her one hand through Janis’ hair and holds just tightly enough. It’s a perfect storm that leaves Janis stunned and chasing after her with her mouth as she pulls away and up late at night thinking not only about what it means but just about how it feels. 

She thinks they should talk about it, what it all means, but that doesn’t mean she has the courage to bring it up. 

Regina, honestly, couldn’t answer the question if she was asked. And she has been. First by a timid Gretchen, then by a curious and kind Cady, and finally by a demanding Damian. 

Gretchen sits on her back porch with her. They’re in their bathing suits, tanning and drinking La Croix. Gretchen goes quiet for a little too long and Regina tenses up. She’s been waiting for someone to ask her and it’s been two days since pride. She guesses she could have gotten away with the whole kissing Janis randomly and without explanation once, but twice…

The problem is, she’s just decided not to really dwell on it. Sure she knows she’s had a crush on Janis in the back of her mind since 8th grade and sure she knows that this whole ‘becoming friends and spending time together’ thing has just stoked the fire and sure she knows that this is the worst thing ever but she also knows that there’s nothing she can do about it. You can’t control who you fall for, so she’s just trying to ride it out. Trying not to hurt Janis. That thought makes her swallow hard.

She’s a little ashamed of her actions. Thankfully they can be brushed off. One as a stunt the other as pride and the craziness that came with that moment. But she also knows it’s not fair to Janis and to herself to play this game. Janis will never like her and she doesn’t deserve the girl anyway. Regina is self-aware (and sees a therapist often enough) now to realize that some of this comes from the fact that she’s punishing herself. She still knows it’s really not fair. 

She also knows that she’s not about to tell any of that to anyone… not really. It would just stress Gretchen out. Gretchen’s a fixer and she tries desperately to fix the problems of the people she loves. This is a problem Gretchen can’t fix, so Regina’s going to have to come up with something. 

Gretchen does ask, eventually, cautiously. Regina sighs a little and just rambles through something about still learning how to make good choices and how she shouldn’t always act on impulse. It leaves a lot to be desired, and Gretchen still seems worried, but she lets it go and changes the subject. Regina shoots her a grateful look. 

Cady doesn’t let her off that easy. She asks the next day when they’re hanging out in Cady’s room. 

“Well, why do you think that’s been an impulse lately?” She asks, voice full of understanding and kindness. 

It’s more than Regina deserves, in her mind at least, and she can feel the prick of tears at the back of her eyes. She shuts that down as fast as she can and decides if she can trust anyone now… it’s probably Cady. She takes in a deep shaky breath and admits to Cady what she has barely even admitted to herself. That she sort-of kind-of maybe-a-little has feelings for Janis. 

Cady just grins and takes them out for ice cream. 

Damian isn’t as kind. It’s been four days since pride, and Janis is veering into sappy territory so he figures it’s his duty as her best friend to make sure she isn’t walking into some sort of trap. Damian and Regina have grown close, shared interests and snarky attitude, but Janis is his person and he doesn’t 100% trust Regina when it comes to his girl. 

He knocks on her door in the late afternoon and they go up to her room. Regina is nervous, he can tell, and that makes his spidey senses tingle, but he’s not sure yet if it’s a good thing or a bad thing. 

He wastes no time getting to the point and Regina immediately sinks and demures a bit. It’s then, for the first time, that Damian relaxes. 

“You know why I’m here. And while I love a dramatic moment I won’t drag this on…” he looks at her. Looks at her really hard. “What are you doing?”

Regina deflates even further and maybe someone else would put their head in their hands but Regina just looks at her pristine pink shoes. 

“I don’t really know.”

“Not good enough.”

Regina looks up at him and Damian’s eyebrows raise in shock at the tears in her eyes. 

“I seriously don’t really know. I know I like Janis. I know that’s dumb. I know I keep getting caught up in these moments. I know that’s not fair. I know we should talk about it but what am I supposed to say? ‘Sorry I keep kissing you, but um I’ve actually always kind of had a crush on you. Just forget about the years where we hated each other and the fact that I ruined your life. Now I really like you and when you look at me sometimes I can’t help it?”

Damian looks at her, a hint of a smile in his eyes. “Yes.”

———  
She doesn’t, though. At least not soon enough. Because two weeks later they’re at Kevin’s house for a party and some dumbass suggests spin the bottle (what are they, in 7th grade Janis scoffs) and they’ve both had a little too much to drink and Regina says yes so Janis does too and while Janis has to kiss two of the mathletes and Cady before luck swings her way, and Regina has to kiss Damian and Karen, they end up in another, unplanned lip lock. 

Janis thinks, absently after her senses fade back in and she returns to her spot in the circle, that she’s gonna run out of convenient reasons to kiss Regina soon, and that makes her inexplicably anxious and a little sad. 

She downs a couple of shots of tequila to get the thoughts out of her head. She downs enough so that the only thing that really remains is the memory of the press of Regina’s lips against her a minute ago and the small noise she had made when she had pulled back. 

She downs enough that a few hours later she’s walking down the hallway and a less-but-still drunk Regina runs into her and suddenly Regina’s back is against the wall and Janis is kissing her again and she kinda feels like she might be floating a few feet off the ground - has the sudden strong urge to pull away from her and check. And then Regina makes that noise again into her mouth and fuck that there’s no way she’s pulling away now. 

They do part, eventually. Karen comes upstairs and has a very pressing question for Regina. She doesn’t seem to care that Janis is all but desolated; moaning and panting with her head thrown back, barely keeping herself standing against the wall as Regina sucks hard on her neck. Karen just starts asking Regina her question. Apparently, it requires Kevin to demonstrate so Karen drags Regina off and Janis stays, slumped against the wall for a few moments before she decides it’s probably time to leave. 

Damian drags Janis home and has to listen to her drunkenly ramble on and on. What does it mean and why does she keep kissing her and why does she not want it to stop. Damian tucks her in and boops her on the nose. 

“Honey I think you know what you want… why don’t we work towards trying to get it?”

That apparently stumps her into a state of silence. 

It takes Janis a few days but on the next Thursday, she calls Damian and asks him to come over. He arrives at her garage/painting studio a few hours later and finds Janis covered in paint and with bright eyes and her most devious grin. 

“I finally figured it out.”

“Holy shit honey, what happened?”

“I was painting, unimportant. What is important is I’m gonna make Regina talk to me this weekend.”

Damian’s, of course, in full support. That is until Cady and Aaron (whose turn it is to pick their weekend activity) pick fucking camping.

Damian stares at them. “Umm, babes, theatre camp is as close as I’ll ever get to camping, and we’d probably kill each other out in the beast of nature.”

“And,” he continues, “in what alternate universe are the mother flipping plastics going to go camping?”

Cady rolls her eyes and shoves his arm lightly. “It’s not going to be like real camping. Just one night, alcohol, campfire, I know Gretchen’s dad has a few really nice tents because he and his old work buddies love doing weird things.”

“Why do you know that?”

“And if we lure them in with the promise of doing whatever they want after that, I’m sure we can win them over,” Aaron says, steamrolling his question. 

“Wait. Pause. You’re willing to gamble on mani-pedis or a spa day or i don’t know some other sort of ritualistic beauty-centered day of torture to go camping with three - no four counting me - of the most high-maintenance people you know… why?”

Janis grins. “This is gonna be batshit”

______

Damian is, of course, supportive of his friends and what they love. He doesn’t really get why camping has to be a part of it though. He also really doesn’t get why Janis seems excited about this. Janis rambles on about how this is perfect, away from the pressures of real life, and drunk in the woods, maybe she and Regina will both be able to put aside all the bullshit and talk about what’s been happening. 

Damian just buys more bug spray and tries to stop stressing. 

Gretchen is really down for camping, which is a little weird, but Gretchen is a whole box of mysteries that’s been hiding beneath all the repression she served herself when she was a tried and true plastic. Karen - once Gretchen patiently explains what all camping will entail - is also super excited, but that’s just kind of Karen. She’s always excited and ready for the next adventure.

They think it’ll probably be Regina who’ll be the least responsive to the idea of camping, and they’re kind of right. But when Cady slyly mentions to her that Janis is super excited about the trip, Regina’s voice tightly but surely rings out a “can’t wait”. 

Regina is the last to arrive at Gretchen’s house the following Friday afternoon. Everyone else is there all dressed, in their own way, to go camping, but all in mostly casual clothes that they’re ready to go into the woods with and are comfortable enough for the drive and a hike. 

Janis half expects Regina to show up looking like the evil gold digger from The Parent Trap movie with Lindsay Lohan did on their camping trip and while she’s processing the fact that maybe young-Janis had a little bit of a wide-eyed crush on that woman, Regina steps out of her white Jeep and into view of the party loading up Marwan’s SUV. Janis wasn’t completely wrong. Regina George steps out of her jeep wearing all black (and honestly most of them breathe a sigh of relief because dealing with Regina wearing her signature white in nature would have been… an adventure). And she is wearing really form-fitting yoga pants and a black athletic material crop top so the Meredith Blake vibes are strong, but she also has a soft and sturdy looking black and white flannel tied around her waist, and Janis, Gretchen, and Damian all look shocked. It’s Damian who speaks up. 

“Wow, who would have thought, Regina George, in a workmen’s fabric. Is it designer?”

Regina rolls her eyes and smiles at them but her cheeks do pink just slightly. She just walks to the back of her Jeep and pops the trunk so that they can put their stuff in. Cady and Aaron will be in the SUV with the mathletes while Janis, Regina, Karen, Gretchen, and Damian ride in Regina’s spacious Jeep. They didn’t really feel like Damian’s mom’s minivan was the right mood for the camping trip, plus she had a work thing that weekend anyway. There really only seems to be one way that the whole seating arrangement thing makes sense in everyone’s mind so while Karen and Gretchen pile in the backseat, Gretchen looking a little nervous, Janis slides into the passenger seat and Damian hops in the back. Regina’s hands start to sweat and they haven’t even left yet.


End file.
